Method and apparatus for opening sheet packs



Nov. 13, 1928. 1,691,250

c. F. PEEK METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR OPENING SHEET PACKS Filed June 16, 1925 act/4 7 a '0 Patented Nov. 13, 1928.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CLIFFORD F. PEEK, OF CHESTERTON, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR ONE-HALF TO CHARLES A. BALL, OF WHEELER, INDIANA.

METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR OPENING snnnr PACKS.

Application filed June 16, 1925. Serial No. 37,421.

My invention relates to improvements in the process of opening sheet steel packs and it more especially consists of the features here-' inafter pointed out in the claims.

The purpose of my invention is to overcome the difliculties which attend ,the present handopening method employed in the manufacture of steel sheets;'that enables me to rapidly separate the individual sheets of a pack in anautomatic manner without starting the separation by hand; that attains this end whether there are a greater or lesser number of sheets which have been rolled in a single pack; that accomplishes the separation without injury to the structure of the individual sheets; that utilizes the principle of action and coor-' dinated reaction applied successively in lineal sequence to the bending and rebending'of a plurality pf closely adhering sheets by causing consecutively recurring endwise movement between adjacent sheets; that through of separated sheets are lastly passed through flattening or straightening rolls before the sheets are delivered to the cold rolls.

' With these and other ends in View, I illus 'trate in the accompanying drawing such instances of adaptation as will disclose the broad underlying features of my invention without limiting myself to the cooperating details shown thereon and the specific steps of the process described herein.

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of the pack showing a portion with initial corrugations. Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view showing in dotted lines the corrugations of Fig. 1 formed by the initial action and the reverse corrugations in full lines produced by the reaction.

Fig. 3 is a diagrammatic elevation of a portion of a train of corrugating rolls and a pair ofv straightening rolls.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged diagrammatic view of a pair ofinteracting 'c'ormgatii -ig rollers. In practically carrying out my process, I may utilize any desired mechanical expedient that will change a flat pack into related corrugations, subsequently reversing the corrugations in coordinated lineal relation, and again similarly reversing the corrugations as many times as may be found necessary and finally flattening out the corrugations, and delivering the unharmed flattened entirely separated sheets from the pack to the straightening rolls. It is of course understoodthat the successive rolls 1 must be uniformly-driven and that the configuration of the teeth 2 and the grooves 3 must be such that the sheets of the pack are not subjectedto a drawing or distorting action. Further, it is also understood that all the rolls 1 of a train are driven at a uniform rate of speed. After the pack 4 has passed through the train of corrugated rolls and the adhesion-of the sheets to each other has been broken, the group of sheets is passed between straightening rolls 5 and 6 of different diameters to prepare the sheets for the cold rolls. The pack 4 is startedinto the corrugating rolls 1 by means of feed rolls 7.

From Fig. 4, it will be seen that the teeth 2 of the rolls 1 do not cause the pack 4 to bottom in the groove 3 of the cooperating roll. The

rolls 1 are placed directly above each other running t ogether like two spur gears, excepting thatthe teeth 2 and the groove 3 do not have any driving action with respect to each,

other and they do not run on a fixed pitch 1 line. The upper roll may be adjusted upand down to change the amplitude of the corrugations as may be required by different thicknesses of packs. This adjustment however does not vary the wave-length of the corrugations, which remains constant between all the rollsof a. train. I may use a group of'four pairs of corrugated rolls, more, or less, as the exigencies of varying practical conditions may demand. All of the rolls including the feeding and straightening ones are set at approximately the same distance apart and each alternate pair of corrugated rolls is so timed that the action of the preceding pair is exactly reversed by the reaction of the succeeding ones. The purpose of this is to cause each pair of corrugated rolls to do its bit towards alternately sliding the sheets to and fro a small distance, so as to completely break the adhesion between the sheets of a pack.

The method at present used in sheet mills involves the separating of the sheets of a rolled pack by "hand through the use of tongs etc., both a dangerous and expensive timeconsuming operation. With my process,

ameter and a packs are divided into their constituent sheets at the approximate rate of feet per minute, without injury to the structure of the individual sheets. Microscopic examinatior of the sheet structure under a magnification of 100 diameters conclusively confirm the previous statement.

The rolls are carried in bearings (not shown) on the end of each roll and are driven separately by helical gears in a positively fixed relation, so that the relative position between the corrugations of one roller can never change with respect to its companion roller, and the relation of one pair of rollers to any other pair cannot likewise be changed. The rollers are driven at both ends so that there can be no twist in them. By reason of the fact that the relative horizontal position between a pair of rolls is fixed, it is possible to form the corrugations by pressing the teeth 2 against the pack and forcing the pack 4: into the cooperating groove 3. The grooves 3 are of such a depth that there is never any simultaneous bearing between the pack, a tooth 2 and the groove 3. This prevents strains being transferred to the pack because it is always feeding from a free end and no outside resistance is offered to the forming of the corrugations. Such a result is secured by shaping the teeth 2 so that when they come in contact with the pack they roll on a perfect radius against the same, crowding it into the grooves 3 without bottoming and not by forming it as would be the case if stamping dies were used. Thesesuccessive steps are continuously possible because all the rolls are made exactly alike and the size of the corrugations is so proportioned with respect to the roll diameters that when the two rolls of a pair are in mesh, one and only one corrugation will be made at one time by a single pair of rolls.

The action of the second pair of rolls, as well as the following pair is identically the same as that of the first or entering pair of rolls, excepting that each succeeding pair exactly reverses the action of the pair of rolls immediately preceding it. This reverse action is accomplished by making the horizontal distance between pairs of rolls an exact multiple of the size of the corrugation made by the first pair and by timing all succeeding pairs with the first one and rotating them all at the same speed.

From the description and the drawing, it will be seen that due to the thickness of a pack of an inch more or less and with rolls of approximately 8 inches outside dipitch diameter of approximately 7% inch, the outside sheet of a pack in engagement with a tooth 2 will be bent in a given radius having acircular arc of a given length. Each of the succeeding sheets are of course a greater distance from the tooth 2 and in consequence are bent on difierent radii with corresponding changes of circular are which inevitably causes the sheets farthest removed from the tooth surface to have a greater sliding action with respect to each other than those nearest the tooth surface.

As the reverse action comes on the sheets 4 which previously received the least lineal movement with respect to each other are now subjected to a maximum change. It is this alternate maximum and minimum sliding action that compels the sheets to separate and the only thing that can prevent their separation is the actual accidental welding of one sheet to another.

As this invention is of commanding importance, I claim the same in its broadest aspect.

What I claim is:

1. The process of separating adhering sheets of a metal pack consisting in feeding the pack between a pair of corrugating rolls to form transverse corrugations in the pack of small radius, in reversing the corrugations at substantially the same radius and in subsequently removing the corrugations from the ack.

p 2. The process of opening sheet metal packs, which consists in continuously imparting lengthwise movement to a sheet metal pack, in shortening the length of the pack through the successive formation of small radius transverse corrugations, inimmediately reversing the corrugations of the passing pack, and in subsequently removing the corrugations continuously as the pack travels lengthwise.

3. The process of opening a sheet metal pack, which consists in successively forming small radius corrugations in a sheet pack, transversely thereof, in immediately reversing such corrugations, and in subsequently removing the corrugations whereby the individual sheets of the pack are separated from each other.

4. The process of separating adhering sheets. which consists in feeding a plurality of adhering sheets lengthwise thereof, in gradually shortening the length of the pack by successively forming short radius corrugations one by one tranversely of said sheets, in immediately thereafter successively reversing such corrugations one by one, and in subsequently restoring the length of the pack to also successively remove the reversed corrugations whereby the sheets are separated.

5. The process of opening a sheet metal pack, which consists in successively and continuously changing the lineal dimensions of the two surfaces of a sheet pack at short intervals lengthwise thereof, in immediately reversing the change in dimensions to opposite sides of the pack, and in immediately thereafter restoring the two surfaces of the pack into similar lineal dimensions.

6. Apparatus of the class specified ,com-

prising means for imparting to the pack at short radii a series of relatively short transverse bends first in one direction and then immediately in the opposite'direction.

7. Apparatus of the class specified comprising means for transversely corrugating the pack so that the corrugations will be formed first'in one direction and then in the opposite direction."

8. Apparatus of the class specified comprising a pair of transversely extending corrugating rolls, a second pair of similar rolls arranged so that the rolls of the first pair will form transverse corrugations in one direction and the second pair of rolls will immediately bend the corrugations in the opposite direction.

9. Apparatus of the class specified comprising a set of feed rolls, a plurality of sets of transversely extending rolls having corrugations of short radius arranged to receive the pack from the feed rolls and positioned in respect of each other so that the rolls of one set will form corrugations in one direction and the rolls of the adjacent setwill form corrugations in the opposite direction and a set of straightening rolls for removing the v corrugations.

In testimony whereof I afiix my si ature.

CLIFFORD F. P EK. 

